"Last week, one of the world's most successful online gaming companies, Blizzard Entertainment of Irvine, told its global community of World of Warcraft players that they'd have to use real names in forums.

The pushback was severe. The most outraged, as Register writer Ian Hamilton reported, lashed out by publishing online every public item they could find about Blizzard employees and, in some cases, their relatives."

"But a study aggregating results from 130 research reports on more than 130,000 subjects worldwide has more breadth than most of its predecessors regarding the effects of violent video games on youths (though there is, of course, already a growing chorus of skeptics)."

"Systems like these - known in the industry as nurturing games - are built to require regular investments of time and, for fullest enjoyment, money. The games are usually hosted by social networks like Facebook, or can connect to such networks so friends can follow one another's progress. They feature living digital property - the crops in FarmVille or the fish in Happy Aquarium - that can die without care and feeding. At FooPets, death is averted because, after a short period of neglect, the pet goes to a FooShelter. (And reclaiming it becomes an expensive proposition.)"

"Microsoft's research arm is leading a new effort to study the use of computer games as tools to help middle-school students learn science and math.

The Games for Learning Institute (G4LI) aims to identify which qualities of computer games engage students and help develop relevant, personalized teaching strategies that can be applied to the learning process, its organizers said. The G4LI is a joint research endeavor by Microsoft Research, New York University (NYU), and a consortium of universities. Partners include Columbia University, the City University of New York (CUNY), Dartmouth College, Parsons, Polytechnic Institute of NYU, the Rochester Institute of Technology, and Columbia Teachers College."

"This fall, New York City is rolling out Dimension M - M stands for math - in 109 middle schools across the five boroughs after trying the game out in two dozen schools, including I.S. 30, last year. Like a modern twist on "Jeopardy!," the fast-paced video game quizzes students on prealgebra and algebra topics ranging from prime numbers to fractions and complex equations. A correct answer brings 500 or more points, a wrong one as few as 25; the player with the most points wins. (No prizes, just glory.)"

"Kuniholm is a biomechanics researcher at Duke University who lost his arm in an explosion while serving in Iraq. His efforts at Guitar Hero are more than just fun and games.

He is trying out a system developed by Jacob Vogelstein and Robert Armiger of the Applied Physics lab at Johns Hopkins University who hope to use games like Guitar Hero to train people to use prosthetic limbs."